Refrigerator



June 27, 1933.

R. G. CA,LTON 1,916,165

REFRIGERATOR Filed Aug. 24, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 3n0entor ZiGfQzZZZ/v (Zttorneg Patented June 27, 1933- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROBERT G. CALTON, OF NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, ASSIGNOR T TENNESSEE ENAMEL MANUFACTURING 60., A CORPORATION OF TENNESSEE REFRIGERATOR Application filed August 24, 1932. Serial No. 630,278.

This invention relates to refrigerators and, among other objects, aiins to provide novel means to confine and control the circulation of air in the food compartment below the ice bunker so that the ice will melt from the bottom and the temperature maintained in the 1 food compartment is dependent on the exposed area of the bottom of the cake instead of its varying superficial area or size. More specifically, the idea is to provide a novel ice rack and associated means constructed and arranged to. so control or direct the air circulation in the food compartment that the chilled air is always free to descend without 7 simple type of refrigerator embodying one form of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken at right angles to Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the ice rack shown in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the rack;

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view of a refrigerator embodying. a greatly simplified form of the invention;

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken at right angles to Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a top plan View of the ice rack shown in Fig. 5; and

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the rack.

In the ordinary type of refrigerator, the circulating air passes through the ice compartment and is cooled or chilled by contact with the cake of ice. Naturally, a large block or cake of icemaintains a lower temperature in the food compartment than a small cake due to the fact that the large cake presents a much greater cooling surface.

' lar opening 12 When the size of the cake is reduced to about half, the temperature in the food compartment is higher than the refrigerating temperature required properly to keep certain foods. Moreover, the chilled air cannot descend freely from the ice bunker because it is retarded by rising currents of warm air. It is very important that the air shall circulate freely to maintain a constant temperature in the food compartment. Heretofore, very frequent ice service has been necessary. and this has resulted in waste, because partially consumed pieces of ice are either thrown out or make it impossible for the ice marl to put in a capacity-sized cake. Moreover, some inconvenience is entailed every t-imeice is added, because the ice compartment has to be cleared of all stored food. This invention provides an improved, relatively simple and eiiicient ice rack having associated means to direct the air circulation and insure a substantially constant temperature in the food compartment until practically all of the ice has melted. Moreover, it avoids the necessity of replenishing the ice beforeit has melted, making possible far less frequent servicing and the inconvenience 1ncid ent thereto.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 4, one form of 1mproved rack is shown in an upright refrigerator 10 having a double-walled, insulated drip pan 11 which forms the bottom of the 0 ice bunker or compartment. The drip pan is shown as being spaced from the side walls of the refrigerator and has the usual rectangu- V in the center to permit chilled air to descend through it intothe food compartfent.

This form of ice rack has a top plate 13 made of a reinforced, rectangular sheet of metal closely fitted in the refrigerator casing and supported on the drip pan by means of U-shaped legs 14 conveniently formed of bent strips of sheet metal brazed or soldered to the bottom of the top plate at its front and rear edges. It will be noted that circulating air cannot enter the ice bunker or compartment around the edges of the rack.

In Fig. 3, the rack is shown as having a recsurface of the drip frigerator and terminate short of the side walls so as to provide transverse flues or passages for the circulating air. The arrangement is such as to control or direct the circulating air in separate streams rising at the opposite sides of the food compartment, being accelerated by absorption of heat conducted through the side walls of the casing. The chilled currents merge and descend freely through the opening 12. In Fig. 1, the full line arrows indicate the general paths of the air currents.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 3, the fins extend across the opening in the rack and their upper flanges 17 provide reinforced, spaced supports for that portion of the cake of ice above the opening. Below the opening 15, the fins are shown as being cut away so that each one presents an M-shaped notch 18. Within these notches and below the opposite side edges of the opening 15, a pair of inclined deflector plates 19 is suitably secured. As shown in Fig. 1, these deflector plates drain the water downwardly and inwardly toward each other, their outer edges being preferably brazed or soldered to the edges of the notched fins at a substantial distance below their upper edges or the bottom of the rack. Their lower edges are spaced apart a suflicient distance to permit air to circulate between them. These deflectors serve to drain the water which drips through the opening 15 into a double, insulated drip trough or pan 20 supported by U-shaped brackets 21 which are secured to the bottoms of the deflector plates. The trough 20 drains the water to the back side of the drip pan 11 from which it passes into the usual drain tube 22.

Assuming that a block of ice I is placed inthe ice bunker and substantially covers the rack, the circulating air will follow substantially the paths indicated by'the full-line arrows in Fig. 1, the rightand left hand ends of the fins or heat exchanging elements-16 serving to chill the air as it passes through the flues formed by the fins. streams are deflected downwardly and inwardly by the lower faces of the deflectors. Circulation will continue to follow the direction of the full-line arrows as long as the bottom of the ice cake contacts with the imperforate portions of the top plate 10 of the rack. As long as the ice cake remains in contact with the top plate, practically nOIIe The chilled of the air. will come in contact with the bottom of the ice immediately above-the opening 15, because it descends rapidly upon being chilled.

When the ice' melts immediately above the rack and assumes the shape roughly indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 1, it no longer contacts with the ice rack at the opposite sides of the opening 15. Hence, the chilling effect of the fins at their ends is greatly diminished. The air must be chilled before it will descend through the circulating opening 12 and it therefore follows the paths of the dotted arrows in Fig. 1, passing between the outer or upper edges of the deflectors 19 and the bottom of the top plate 10. The V-shaped portions of the fins formed by the M-shaped notches then serve to chill the air conducting the heat to the central portion of the bottom of the ice. Moreover, some of the air comes in direct contact with the ice between the flanges 17 of the fins. Thus, the circulatopening 15 until the ice cake again rests flatly on the top plate at the opposite sides. The air circulation will again follow the directions of the full-line arrows, and the processis repeated until the ice is completely melted.

In Figs. 5 to 8 inclusive, there is shown a greatly simplified form of rack also closely fitted in an upright refrigerator 10 having a double drip pan 11 and the drip pan, likewise, presents a central air circulating opening 12. is made of two spaced rectangular pieces of sheet metal 23 shown as being spot-welded to the webs of a pluralitv of channel-shaped, sheet metal fins 24 extending across the refrigerator casing. The rack is shown as being supported on pairs of strap metal legs 25 each bent U-shaped and extending across the tops of the channel-shaped fins 24 at their ends, each of the fins being welded or otherwise secured to horizontal portions of the legs. Hence, the legs serve to reinforce the whole rack and to support the lower edges of a the fins above the upper edges of the drip an. p Referring to Figs. 5 and 7, it will be noted that the fins 24 serve as supports for the ice cake between the two plates and the bottom of the ice is partially exposed to the circulating air between the fins.

In this instance, the top of the rack mg air melts away the ice cake above the i at the mid-portion to the initially chilled air T drain nipple 28 above the open upper end of the drain pipe. 4

The simplified form of rack also directs the air circulation in two separate paths as indicated generally by the arrows in'Fig.,5. The rising currents or streams are accelerated by absorbing some heat conducted through the side walls of the casing and are guided inwardly under the rack by'the fins. Both streams of air are chilled by conduction through the fins and by direct contact with the bottom of the ice cake in the middle of the rack. Since the ice is partially exposed currents coming from the sides, it-will melt substantially uniformly throughout its bottom surface. 1 v

The efiiciency of the refrigerator shown in Figs. 5 and 6 is somewhat greater than that shown in Figs. 1 and 2, because the circulating air is chilled by contact with the entire surface of fins and the exposed bottom portion of the ice cake. Moreover, the simple form of rack is much easier to manufacture. From the foregoing description, it will be seen that both forms of the improved ice rack are very simple in design and efficient in operation. The fins serve to regulate the temperature in the food compartment automatically and, independently of the diminishing I size or volume of ice in the ice bunker or compartment. Moreover, they insure rapid circulation of chilled air through the food compartment. Actual tests have demonstrated that the frequency/of ice service is greatly reduced, and that substantially the same temperature is maintained in the food confpartment at all times. This eliminates considerable waste of pieces of ice which are of irregular shape when refrigerators of the ordinary type are serviced. It reduces the overhead of the ice man because he can deliver a cake of ice of capacity size every time service is required, without having to stop and chip off pieces to make it fit.

Qbviously, the present invention is not restricted r to the particular embodiments thereof herein shown and described. Moreover, it is not indispensable that all the features of the invention be used conjointly,

since they may be employed advantageously in various combinations and sub-combination's.

What is claimed is:

1. In a refrigerator of the class described, an ice bunker having a drip pan spaced from the opposite side walls of the refrigerator casing and having an air circulating opening in the middle; a metal ice rack mounted on the drip pan and closely fitting the inside of the casing; and a series of parallel heat conducting fins on the rack extending transverse- 1y of the casing from one side wall to the.

other and providing fines to direct the air circulating in thefood compartment below the "rack and, thence, downwardly through said circulating opening in the drip pan.

2. In a refrigerator of the class described, a drip pan having its opposite edges spaced from the opposite side walls of the refrigerator casing; a therein; a metal ice rack closely fitted in the casing and having legs supporting it on the drip pan; a series of metal fins depending below and mounted on the drip pan and closely fitting the inside of the casing to prevent circulat- 7 ing air from entering. the ice compartment; a series of parallel heat conducting fins extending transversely of the. casing and secured to the bottom of the rack providing fins to direct the air circulating in the food compartment; and a pair of inclined deflector plates secured to the fins below the 'centralportion of the rack. and arrangedto control the circulation of air so that an ice cake on the rack will melt substantially uniformly from the bottom.

4. In a refrigerator, an ice rack supported forming a part of the ice rack and extending across the refrigerator to provlde central air circulating opening lot on the bottom of the ice bunker and fitting 1 therein to prevent circulating air from entering the ice compartment; heat conducting elements on the bottom of the ice rack connected to direct the air to circulate in two paths which mergebelow the middle of the rack as thechilled air descends; and spaced deflectors secured to the heat conducting elements below the central portion of the rack arranged to direct the currents of circulating air alternately under opposite sides and under the central portionof the rack, whereby to melt the ice substantially uniformlyand maintain a substantially constant temperature in the food compartment until the ice is practically consumed.

5. In a refrigerator of the class described,

' a drip pan spaced from the inside'walls of the refrigerator and having'a central, aircirculating opening; a substantially rectangular ice rack made of sheet metal also having a central opening;a plurality of vertical, sheet metal fins secured to the bottom of the rack and extending transversely of therefrig erator to provide horizontal air-circulating fines to direct the air circulation inxthe food. compartment; said fins havingsubstantially lVl-shaped notches below the opening in the rack and their upper edges near the middle, providing supports for an ice cake; a

pair of spaced, inclined deflector plates secured in said notches at their opposite edges to drain the water which falls through the opening in the rack; and a drip trough serack at its opposite sides and their upper edges being spaced below the bottom'of the rack to permit the circulating air to enter the space above the deflector plates and be chilled by the mid portion of the ice cake after it has melted out of contact with the sides of the rack, whereby to level off the bottom of the ice so that the cycle of circulation.

is repeated until the ice is practically consumed.

6. In a refrigerator of the character described, a drip pan dividing the refrigerating casing into a food compartment and ice bunker and having its opposite side edges spaced from the opposite side walls of the refrigerator casing; said drip pan having a central air-circulating opening therein; an ice rack supported on said drip pan and having spaced plates at opposite sides of the ice compartment leaving a substantially rectangular- A comprising a pair of strap metal supports opening above the air-circulating opening in the drip pan; a plurality of depending parallel metal fins of substantial area secured to the bottoms of the spaced plates and extending transversely of the refrigerator casing from one side Wall to the other so as to direct circulating air in separate streams which rise along the side walls of the refrigerator casing and merge after the air is chilled and descends. through said air-circulating opening in the drip pan; and an auxiliary drip pan suspended from the rack and supported above the opening in said firstnamed drip pan to catch the water which drips through the central opening in the ice rack without interfering with the free circulation of chilled air passing through the main drip pan.

7. As an article of manufacture, an ice rack for top icer refrigerators comprising a sheet metal top having a central rectangular opening; a plurality of parallel sheet metal fins depending fromand welded to the bottom of said sheet metal top and. extending across said opening, said sheet metal fins being of substantial width and area to constitute reinforcing and heat exchangingelements and supporting legs for the rack extending below the lower edges of said fin'; adapted to support the rack on a drip pan.

8. As an article of manufacture, an ice rack for refrigerators comprising a sheet metal top having a central rectangular opening; and a plurality of parallel sheet metal fins depending from the bottom wall of the sheet metal top and extending across said opening constituting reinforcing and heat exchanging elements, each of said fins having a substantial heat exchanging area at its ends and a relatively smaller area intermediate its ends below said central opening.

9. As an article of manufacture, an ice rack each having bent legsat its ends; a plurality of parallel, channel shaped sheet metal elements each connected at its ends to said strap metal supports and depending from their lower faces; and a pair of spaced rectangular top plates secured to the webs of said channel shaped elements adjacent to said strap metal supports.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signature.

ROBERT G. (DALTON. 

